Wave-motor.



D: R. OLMSTED." WAVE MOTOR. I APPLIOA TION FILED JAN. 3, 1913.

l W 1 540/ 41? by Attorneys Patented 0011.28, 1913.

DAVID R. OLMSTED, OF COUNCIL BLEIFZES, IOWA.

wave-moron.

Patented Got. 28,1913, Serial No: reacts.

To all "wkomit'm-a'y concerto:

Be it known that 1, DAVID R. 'Onivisrnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Council Blufi's in the county of Pott'a'w'a-ttamie and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful lmprrwements in Wave- Mot-ors, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying draw-- ings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to wave motors, one of its objects being to provide a durable and compact construction utilizing both the weight and the momentum of the waves as well as the suction set up thereby, for the purpose of actuating the power transmitting mechanism which, under ordinary conditions, will be apiston mounted for reciprocation.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides inthe combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made vvithi'nthe scope of what is claimed, Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred forms of the invention have been shown.

In said drawings :-Figure 1 is a vertical section through the motor, the mechanism driven thereby being indicated in diz'igra-rn.

Fig. 2 is a section through a portion of a slightly modified-structure. Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing another modified structure. shape of the sea wall.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 2 designates a curved conduit lo cated below the bed of the body of water, thi conduit being formed with an inlet opening. 1 while that portion of the conduit remote from the inlet is extended upwardly along straight lines, as shown at 3. If dcsi'red this straight portion-0f the conduit can be either vertical or inclined, the inclined position being shown by dotted lines at 14- in Fig. 1. In either event the upwardly extending portion 3 is to project above the highest level attained by the waves. The upstanding portion 3 of the conduit extends back of a sea wall 13 against which the waves are designed to dash so that, when Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the brought to an abrupt stop, they will be extended upwardly along the wall, thus increasing the height attained by the waves. The sea wall has a downwardly inclined base 137 in which the inlet opening 1 of the conduit is formed. Thus the water as it rolls inwardly toward the wall 13 will travel over this inclined base 13" and ultimately strike the Wall and be deflected upwardly thereby. Rails 15 are arranged on the base 13 andextend to opposite sides of the'opcning 1, and mounted on these rails is a gate valve 9 adapted to be engaged by guides or holders 11 and 12 so as thus to be held over the inlet opening 1 when the gate valve is in its normal position. An actuating chain or cable 10 extends'from the gate valve and upwardly past suitably arranged pulleys so that a person located back of or upon the sea wall can actuate this flexible element 16 for the purpose of moving the gate valve outof position above the opening 1.

For the purpose of utilizing the weight, pressure and suction of the water for the purpose of actuating suitable mechanism, a piston}; may be mounted for reciprocation within the upstanding portion 3 of the conduit, this piston having a rack bar constituting a portion of the piston rod, said rack bar being indicated at 5. This rack bar can drive a gear 6 which can be mounted for rotation on a shaft 7 and said gear can be utilized for operating a pump 8 or the like. Thus it will be seen that as the piston 4 rises and falls Within the conduit, the rack bar 5 will rotate the gear 6 back and forth and thus actuate the pump.

It will be understood that when the gate valve 9 is in position over the inlet opening 1, the water contained within the conduit 2 will remain quiet and, therefore, piston at will not be actuated. When, however, the

gate-valve 9 is withdrawn from above the;

opening 1, the waves, as they roll over the inlet end of the conduit and dash against the sea wall 13, will add to the weight of the watercontained within the conduit and the water in said conduit will tend to seek the highest level of the waves, this level being increased by reason'of the fact that the waves dash upon and are thrown upwardly by the sea wall. Thus the pressure and weight of water that is obtained in this manner will cause the piston lto move upwardly to the highest level of the waves. As the waves recede from the wall 13, the level of the water in the conduit will drop to the lowest level of thewavesat the point above the inlet opening 1 and, consequently, a suction will be set up within the conduit andpiston 4: will be caused to move downwardly. Thus a powerful up and down stroke of the piston is set up, the length of the stroke being greatly increased by reason of the fact that the waves are caused to dash against the sea wall at a point close to the opening 1 so that the level of the water is thus made greater than would be the case should the waves be allowed to roll inwardly along an inclined surface. By partly closing the inlet opening 1, the action of the water upon the piston can be reduced, as will be obvious.

Importance is attached to the provision of a curvedconduit as it has been found. that this reduces friction to the minimum and produces better results than could be obtained by any other construction of conduit. Instead of having the upwardly extending portion 3 of the conduit of the same diame ter throughout the length thereof, a modified conduit, such as shown in Fig. 2 at 17 can be used, this conduit having an enlarged cylindrical portion 16 for the reception of the piston 18. The operation of this structure is the same as that hereinbefore described. It has been found, however, that by utilizing a larger piston in this manner, greater power can be obtained than otherwise.

The sea wall is preferably V-shaped, as shown in Fig. 4, the wings thereof extending along diverging lines into the body or 'water'and at opposite sides of the inlet of the conduit. Thus as the waves roll inwardly from difi'erent directions, they will necessarily strike some portion of the sea wall and thus be deflected upwardly for the nurpr -hove the inlet. ttending cylindrical portion 0 .ily, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it can. be ined upwardly, as shown at 14: in Fig.

What is claimed is l. A wave motor including a conduit curved downwardly from the bed of the body of water and thence extended upwardly to a point above the highest level of the water, a water operated power trans mitting element movably mounted within the upwardly extended portion of the conduit. and an upstanding 'iiired structure spared iii-om the mist oi the conduit and raising the level of the water at constituting means for deflecting upwardly water moving thereagainst to raise the level and increase the weight of the water directly above the inlet of the conduit.

2. A wave motor including a conduit curved downwardly from the bed of the body of water and thence extended upwardly to a point above the highest level of the water, means within the upwardly extending portion of the conduit and adapted to be actuated by the water contained in the conduit, for transmitting motion to mechanism to be driven, and a continuous sea wall extended upwardly adjacent to but spaced from the inlet of the conduit and constituting an abutment for waves passing over said inlet, said sea wall being extended into the body of water at opposite sides of the inlet of the conduit and along lines diverging into the body of water.

3; A wave motor including a conduit ex-- tended downwardly from the bed of a body of water and thence upwardly to a point above the highest level of said body, that portion of the conduit below the bed of body of water being curved, a piston mounted for'reciprocation within the upwardly extending portion of the conduit, and adapted to be actuated by the rise and fall of the level of the water within the conduit, a sea wall adjacent the inlet of the conduit for directing upwardly the waves moving thereagainst, and means upon the outer end of the conduit for controlling the flow of Water into the conduit.

4. A wave motor including a conduit curved downwardly from the bed of the body of water and thence extended-upwardly to a point above the highest level of the water, means within the upwardly extending portion of the conduit and adapted to be actuated by the water contained in the conduit, for transmitting motion to mechanism to be driven, and a continuous sea wall extended upwardly adjacent to but spaced from the inlet of the condui and constituting an abutment for Waves passing over said inlet, said sea wall being extended into the body of water at opposite sides of the inlet of the conduit and along lines diverging into the body of water, a gate valve for closing the outer end of the conduit, and means for actuating the valve.

DAVID R. ULMSTED.

Witnesses:

Gno. D. (Larson, 5'. M. HOLADAY. 

